


Fighting zombies is only fun in video games

by tsukkiguchi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Anxiety, Blood, F/F, Graphic Description, M/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Muteness, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Survival, Zombie Apocalypse, idk what im doing, smut MAYBE, the story is (probably) better than the summary implies, this is gonna be sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-05-26 00:22:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6216097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukkiguchi/pseuds/tsukkiguchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A virus that turns humans into flesh eating zombies has made its way to Japan. These monsters are known as The Others.</p>
<p>As Karasuno struggles to survive amidst the chaotic hell-hole that their lives have become, Kageyama deals with his internal battle of being a human or one of the undead.</p>
<p>(Alternatively; Most of them have PTSD, all of them will either murder someone or be murdered, and if they were happy before they sure aren't anymore. I am so sorry.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kageyama sat hunched over his plate of soggy beans, mostly just playing with the food but took bites every time Sugawara threw him a concerned look. Every time he took another bite of his food he had to force himself to swallow before it came back up.

Tanaka and Noya began to laugh loudly to Kageyamas right at a joke he hadn’t heard. Kageyama looked up from his plate at Tsukishima who was sitting right across from him. The taller boy rolled his eyes, indicating that whatever joke the second years had told had been a stupid one.

Kageyama found himself relating to the blonde boy for once; he had begun to hate laughter as well. Not because it was caused by bad jokes, although that was a contributing factor, but because laughter was too cheerful for the unpleasant atmosphere. Kageyama had begun to dislike a lot of things lately, such as sunlight, clear skies, smiles, etc. Basically anything that could be considered ‘happy.’ Happiness was an emotion Kageyama was sure he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, feel again.

Not since The Virus spread. Not since the world had turned to hell.

The Virus had started out as a simple serum created in America. After being tested on several different species, (animals and humans) scientists had discovered a miraculous effect that could make even the weakest, scrawniest man alive into a professional bodybuilder.

Many thought the serum was only going to be used in wars but soon they had begun marketing it in regular doctors’ offices. It worked like this: After your usual checkup, the doctors used your results to see if you’re eligible to receive the serum. If you are, they offer to inject it into you, just the same as they would for a flu shot. It wasn’t mandatory though, you could decline if you wanted to.

Many had declined but the number of people who did inject themselves was more than those who didn’t. The scientists were making millions so they decided to expand to different countries and the serum eventually made it to Japan.

Results from the serum had been amazing at first, like actual miracles. It was a big improvement to the world and everyone had loved it.

For the first few months that is.

Three months ago though, The Change began. Anyone who had taken the serum took on a gradual changing that was dived into five stages. The first step was a fever coupled with terrible chills, but many believed this to only be the flu, so it was shrugged off. The second step was frequent mood swings and aggressive, sometimes violent, behavior. The third was a physical change; terrible boils breaking out all of the body of the victim, skin peeling off, and the iris would turn completely white. Most noticeably was that all veins in the victim’s body turned a bright purple. The fourth stage was awful pains in the knees, stomach and arms. And the fifth and final step was by far the worst: The victim had grown an unexplainable urge for human flesh.

When the victims, which were now called The Others, had gotten their hands on a human they proceeded to eat them, but not completely, just taking large bites out of them. When the human victim eventually died they would come back to life as an Other. That was how you could tell the difference between an Other who had injected the serum versus those who had been killed; The ones who had been killed had obvious bite wounds from when they were human.

When The Virus had taken the final stage, which happened in Japan almost simultaneously, Kageyamas parents were both working late. He had called them several times but neither picked up, leading Kageyama to assume that they were dead.

A day or so after people began to reach the zombie-like stage, he had received a text message from Sugawara. (Power lines hadn’t been cut off yet and Kageyama hardly used his phone in case his parents called him, so his phone wasn't dead yet) The message had said:

_Most of the team is at Karasuno. We’re all safe and have supplies. The streets are relatively safe and your house is close enough that you could run over. If you do decide to come, make sure to bring a knife in case you run into any of_ them _on the way. Pack a bag of food and clothes because we’re running low._

And that’s just what Kageyama did. He packed a bag and clutched a knife tightly in his hands as he ran to the school. He was quick and quiet enough that none of The Others had heard him.

Most of his teammates were there already, hiding out in the gym. All of the other first years were safe; as safe as dirty and smelly could be. Hinata had a bloody bandage wrapped around his forehead and Yamaguchi was walking with a limp, but at least they were all alive.

Sugawara and Daichi were fine, Daichi had a few scratches on him and Sugas knees were wrapped up tightly with gauze but they both seemed fine otherwise. They were missing Asahi though. Noya insisted that he was still alive, that he was just too afraid to walk all the way to Karasuno on his own. Everyone humored him even though they had all known what had really happened. Tanaka and Noya were pretty bruised up but by their boisterous laughter and usual hot-headed attitudes, Kageyama knew that they were both fine.

Kageyama learned that Kinoshita and Narita had been killed early on; Narita had already been administered the drug and had bit Kinoshita while he and Ennoshita had been taking care of their sick friend. Ennoshita had been in the bathroom when it had happened and heard the commotion. He escaped through the window before Narita had a chance to bite him as well. He hadn’t seen anything happen but he said that the noises were so bad he didn’t have to. After that, Ennoshita didn’t talk often but when he did he spoke very monotonously.

“He’s suffering from PTSD,” Suga had told him one day when he had inquired about it. “The trauma left him selectively mute. He’ll start talking when he feels ready.”

Yachi and Kiyoko had made it safely as well. Yachi was suffering from anxiety quite badly, flinching and nearly screaming at the smallest of things. Only Kiyoko (who was still, somehow, just as levelheaded as before) and Hinata could calm her down.

The teammates had been living together for about three months now. Or maybe it was two. Kageyama wasn’t really keeping track anymore, all of the days just seemed to blur together. They each had their own little duties in order to keep their living space cohesive and make sure the eleven of them stayed alive.

Kiyoko, Ennoshita and Yachi (when she managed to be calm enough to keep her hands from shaking) acted as the nurses. Since she was pretty squeamish, Yachi handled the minor stuff, like stomach aches or signs of a flu. Ennoshita and Kiyoko dealt with the big stuff, like stabs, cuts, deep wounds or bloody things. Kiyoko acted as the main nurse, being level headed and serious when needed, but also offering kind smiles of support. Ennoshita could deal with any injury thrown his way but did so with a straight face and offered no sympathies.

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima acted as the technical repair and problem solvers of the group. They worked on any sort of technology that they could fix. When the power cut off they managed to fix the lights to go on at certain periods throughout the day. They fixed up old guns and repaired broken radios. They even managed to hotwire one of the cars in the parking lot to use on scavenging missions when the group had run out of supplies.

Both of them refused to go on any missions with the others and preferred to stay at the base whenever they could. Their reason was that they weren’t stupid enough to risk their lives going on missions, but Kageyama knew that the real reason had to do with the man made (or should he say Tsukki-made) brace that Yamaguchi wore on his right leg that allows him to walk without limping. But Kageyama never presses the subject because those two were contributing to the group and that’s all that matters.

Kageyama, Hinata, Tanaka and Noya were scavengers. They took the car out to different abandoned houses and supermarkets to look for supplies. These supplies could be anything from food and weapons to broken radios for the technical team to fix up. The four of them could be gone as little as an hour or as long as a week. They also had to be prepared to fight at a moment’s notice in case some of The Others showed up.

Sugawara didn’t stick to just one group. Instead he preferred to help of all of them. He could deal with injuries, fix up electronics, and was even able to handle a gun fairly well. He mostly just stuck to being Daichis right hand man, though, helping him make difficult decisions when he needed to.

And Daichi, of course, was the leader. Everyone voted and decided he was the most capable because of his collected attitude and stern disposition. Every decision made had to be run by Daichi first. He decided what injuries were important enough to use their medical supplies for, what technology was worth repairing, and when the scavenging unit could head out. He kept everyone safe and made sure to put the others before himself.

Their living conditions at the moment were nowhere near glamorous or even really sanitary. They survived off of cans of forgotten goods, mostly beans and rice. Make that cold beans and rice because they obviously didn’t have a stove and rarely had the materials to start a fire. The water only worked half of the time so all of them stunk and most of their clothes were ripped and dirty.

But somehow, they were all still alive after two or so months, which is a lot more than most people could stay.

Even still though, Kageyama couldn’t help but feel bitter and jaded. He scoffed when the others smiled and frowned when they laughed. He hated feeling so angry all of the time but he really couldn’t help it.When he wasn’t angry he was sad, and when he wasn’t sad he was stoic. But never joyful. At this point he was just disgusted. Disgusted at The Others, disgusted at how awful society has become but mostly just disgusted with himself. He felt nauseous and angry every time he rolled up his sleeves and saw bright, purple veins glowing underneath his pale skin. Deep down Kageyama knew he was one of them no matter how human he felt at the end of the day. Because he had accepted the treatment.

Because he was an Other.


	2. Chapter 2

Kageyama stood underneath the cold water, his head down and body motionless. He felt a wetness that wasn't the stream of liquid from above form behind his eyes.He quickly blinked the tears away. He didn’t want to cry anymore, in fact, he couldn’t. He had already cried everything out early on.

He held his wrist up and ran his index finger along his veins. Every time he stared at the abnormally purple things he feels bile rise up into his throat.

He wanted to blame the doctors at his hospital for doing this or even the scientists who created the stupid serum, but he already knew that there was no one else to blame but himself. _All because you had to be selfish_ his mind screamed at him.

He didn’t know though. Who could’ve known? The scientists claimed that it had been tested and was perfectly safe, so, of course, everyone believe them. All Kageyama wanted to do was get stronger, to help his team do even better than before.

_You could’ve just trained, there was no need to cheat._

Kageyama pulled on his hair, willing his thoughts of self-hatred to stop. He grits his teeth and feels his knees go weak.

_I couldn’t have known. I couldn’t have known. Icouldn’thaveknownIcouldn’thaveknownICOULDNTHAVE-_

Loud knocking on the door interrupts his thoughts. Kageyamas head shoots up and turns towards the direction of the banging.

“Hurry up, Kageyama,” Hinata yells, his knocking ceased. “A lot of us are still stinking it up out here!"

Kageyama, not having enough energy to yell a reply back, turns off the water. He steps out of the stall and grabs the towel sitting on the bench. He sighs as he dries himself off.

After, he pulls his long-sleeved shirt over his head. The fall season and cold weather made a good excuse for Kageyama to wear shirts that covered his disgusting arms. Just to hide the veins from himself, though; everyone else in the camp already knew.

They were all wary of him at first, Tanaka didn’t even want to let him in. As much as it pained him, Kageyama was forced to retell the entire story of his injection to show his teammates that he wasn’t a threat.

_Kageyama had gone to the nearest hospital for his routine checkup. The doctor had checked everything he needed to and drew blood like usual. But they had drawn more blood than any other appointment Kageyama had gone to._

_Maybe I’m just imagining things, he had thought at the time, but somewhere deep in gut he knew something wasn’t right._

_Kageyama first started really noticing things were wrong when they hadn’t let his mother back in the room. The doctor usually has the parents step out of the room while they did the checkups, for when they had to check the body. Right after they would call his mother in to let her know the results. But this time, they hadn’t._

_“Have you heard of the newest strength serum, Kageyama?” The doctor had asked him and he had nodded in response. The older man then proceeded to tell Kageyama miraculous stories of weaklings suddenly turned into some of the most powerful men alive thanks to the injection, (many that he hadn’t believed) attempting to get him to inject some himself._

_They described the process of the injection and told him that it was 100% safe, only positive results guaranteed. They asked him if he wanted to take some and Kageyama had been hesitant. At first he was totally against the serum. But now, after hearing how safe and easy it was, he wasn’t so sure._

I want to get stronger, to help my team, _is what he told himself. Deep down inside, though, he knew the real reason._

I want to be stronger than Oikawa and Ushijima. I want to make Hinata the very best.

_So he agreed._

_They got him set up for it, just like a regular shot. “This might sting a bit.” The nurse had told him and he nodded in reply. The serum was a bright purple color. As the pushed the needle into his arm, he winced, but didn’t cry out or groan. The nurse pushed on the syringe and warm medicine flowed into his blood stream._

_It was about half way finished before his mother slammed the door open. The nurse jumped from the noise and pulled the syringe out of his arm._

_His mother screamed at them, asking why they had given him the serum. They told her that he chose to himself and his mother only yelled louder in response, telling them that he should’ve had a parent with him when he made the decision._

_She made Kageyama get off of the bed, pulling him out of the room and telling them that they wouldn’t be coming back. The nurse told her that the serum wouldn’t take effect unless Kageyama got all of it injected, but his mother wasn’t listening. The nurse was definitely right because Kageyama hadn't felt any stronger than he was before._

_He was upset at first but when people started going through the five stages he felt somewhat better. The only things he ever experienced during the stages were minor fevers and aches and pains but that was all. Nothing serious. His skin and eyes never changed like the others and he never felt an urge for human flesh. The only thing that was different was his veins. But other than that he was fine._

All of them believed his story and welcomed him into their group. He heard their whispers once in a while and saw their lingering glances at his arms, but Kageyama never felt offended. He knew that he would be doing the exact same if it were anyone else.

What Kageyama had left out of his retelling was his violent actions and attitudes. Before his teammates had saved him, he frequently had random mood swings of anger and had even resorted to smashing and breaking things at his house.

He had been able to keep his act up around his friends but Kageyama wasn’t sure how much more he take without snapping.

Every time Hinata made one of his usual jabs at him, Kageyama had to fight the urge to punch him. When Noya and Tanaka made some sort of stupid quip, Kageyama could barely keep a sarcastic response from coming out.

He was just going to be his usual Tobio-self, same as always.

But, man, was that so hard to do now-a-days.

Hinata burst into the room with a scowl on his face. Kageyama rolled his eyes and threw his towel at the shorter boy. It landed on Hinatas face, which made him cry out.

“You reek, Kageyama!”

“We all do.” The rave-haired teen responded, scoffing as Hinata stuck his tongue out at him.

Kageyama started to walk toward the door, but Hinata pulled on his arm before he could leave, causing him to stop and turn around. Kageyama yanked his arm out of the older boys grasp. His eyes were blown wide as he quickly rolled down his sleeve. He gripped his arm tightly, pinching his eyes shut.

_You’re a freak and he knows. Hinata knows how disgusting you are. He’s just waiting for the right moment to make fun of you. Like right now, he’ll surely push you around in your weak state. Just watch-_

Kageyamas eyes shot open as a smaller hand began to grasp his.

He looked at Hinata, expecting to see judgmental eyes and a harsh smirk. He was shocked to find that the others eyes were soft and he had a small smile on his face.

“How have you been Kageyama.” He asked, their hands still interlocked.

Well, if he had been expecting anything, it sure wasn't that.

_He's catching on. He can tell how miserable you really are.  
_

Kageyama opened his mouth to reply, when Hinata interrupted him.

“And don’t say fine because we both know that’s not true.”

Kageyama sighed, upset that his façade had been seen through. He raked his dark locks with his other hand, looking everywhere but into Hinatas golden eyes.

“I’m dealing with it.” He replied somewhat honestly. He wasn’t happy, not by any means, but he was coping. He couldn’t do anything but cope. That’s all any of them could do.

Hinatas smile had dropped and his mouth was set in a firm line. His eyes didn’t show that he was mad, just tired.

That’s how everyones eyes looked now. So tired. Tired of living, tired of fighting, tired of how the worlds become.

“You know that you can talk to me, right Kageyama?” The boy spoke so earnestly and so quietly, like he was afraid that his offering would only anger the younger teen.

If there was anyone that didn’t deserve to be put through this hell, it was Hinata.

What was worse is that he still pretended to be the happy, go-lucky, sunshine of the team. Trying to get others to smile and think positively when things went wrong.

But his mask was starting to crumble, just like everyone elses and Kageyama could tell how hard it was for him to be joyful.

_Don’t worry about me, idiot!_ Kageyama wanted to scream. _You’re the one whos really in pain!_

But instead, he just nodded and thanked his… Friend? He still wasn’t really sure what they were. They fought but Kageyama liked to believe that it was _friendly bantering._ He didn’t want to admit it, but he really wanted to be Hinatas friend. He was over their "rivalry" or whatever the hell it was and just wanted the orange haired teen to like him. _Tolerate_ him, at the very least.

“Just let me know if you ever want to talk.” Hinata said, squeezing his hand comfortingly. Kageyama felt himself blush and prayed that Hinata couldn’t see it.

He swallowed heavily and gripped Hinatas hand tighter before he lost his nerve.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Just as if a switch had been turned on, Hinata was back to his smiley self. He grabbed his towel and walked over to the shower.

Kageyama, who was confused at his friends(?) change in behavior, began to walk toward the door.

“And Kageyama?” Hinata spoke behind the curtain. Kageyama paused with his hand over the handle.

“Next time, I’ll just let you have the shower longer, because you still smell like shit!”

 

In the room next door, Sugawara smiled, listening to the sound of laughter and yelling being carried through the vent.

He hummed to himself, appreciating that, for once, it felt like old times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These last two chapters have been like a prologue of sorts, just trying to sort all of the backstory out. I promise that it'll start to get better next chapter. 
> 
> I really appreciate feedback! If there's a particular character you want to see more of just let me know and I'll try to include them. 
> 
> As for the other teams, I'm debating if I should add them into this story or create a spin off. Again, if you'd like to see them now, let me know and I'm sure that I can work them into this fic.


	3. Chapter 3

As the car he was seated in bumped along the cracked road, Kageyama couldn’t help but spare a glance to Hinata, who was seated right next to him.

The older teen was looking out the window with a small frown perched upon his face. His forehead was pressed to the glass and he let out a small sigh.

Kageyama hated seeing him like this. Hinata was usually so upbeat, even if they were in the middle of the apocalypse.

He kept up his act rather well, all smiles and bubbly personality. But there were moments like these, when he thought that no one was watching him, that he let his façade break and act like he should be.

Kageyama knew that sooner or later, the orange haired boy would slip further into depression like everyone else.

He just wished that it had been later.

“Man!” Tanaka exclaimed from the driver’s seat in front of Kageyama. He scratched his shaved head and groaned. “I really wish the radio in this piece of shit still worked. Everyone’s so quiet. It’s boring!”

“Not to worry, Ryuu!” Nishinoya yelled from the passenger seat. He put a hand on his chest and closed his eyes, a big grin adorned on his face. “Let my beautiful singing soothe you!”

Noya began to sing off key to some horrible pop song that the two second years had probably memorized. Tanaka laughed and shoved him which only caused Noya to sing louder.

Kageyama jumped as Hinata began to sing with them. He leaned in and grabbed onto Noyas seat, practically screeching the words in his ear, but Noya didn’t seem to mind. Together, the first and second year made the worst duet Kageyama had ever heard.

Before he could help it, a chuckle burst from his lips. He slapped a hand over his mouth but sighed in relief, as the singing was so loud that no one else heard.

Suddenly, Tanaka slammed on the breaks, which caused everyone to jump forward and then slam their heads back into the seat rests.

“Ryuu, what the hell?” Noya shouted, slapping his best friend over the head. “Are you trying to kill us?”

The boy in question didn’t respond but merely pointed to the building in front of them.

“We’re here.”

 

The four of them approached the building with caution. It was a small, one story house that would’ve probably been a nice cream coloring before it was splattering with blood and dirt.

Tanaka walked up first and tried the door. He jiggled the handle a bit and then frowned as it wouldn’t open. Kageyama sighed.

“Let’s just look around the house. They probably had a window smashed in that we can enter through or- “

Before he could finish telling the group his ideas a loud bang sounded. Tanaka had kicked the door and managed to break the hinges.

“Or we can just do that.”

Hinata laughed while Noya patted Tanaka on the back and together they walked inside the house.

What happens next on their usual missions is like a routine; Noya and Tanaka search the kitchens and backyards while Hinata and Kageyama search whatever’s left, like bedrooms and bathrooms.

The Others were most likely to be in the kitchens and outside which is why the second years searched those places first. They had been aggressive and relied on brute force _before_ the Virus spread making them able to handle the Others now.

Of course, it wasn’t guaranteed that those would be the only spots the undead could be hiding out in, which is why Kageyama and Hinata carried weapons with them as well. They only carried kitchen knives though, the real weapons were left with the second years; two semi-automatics they had found in someone’s garage a long time ago.

Tanaka and Noya carefully walked toward the kitchens with their guns pointed while Kageyama and Hinata made their way to the only bedroom in the house.

As soon as they opened the door and walked inside, Kageyamas nostrils were bombarded by the awful scent of blood and vomit. He pinched his nose shut and forced himself not to gag.

He looked over and saw that Hinata was having the same problem. His eyes were watery as he covered his nose and mouth with his arm.

They met each other’s eyes and nodded in an unspoken agreement, for neither of them wanted to speak and risk inhaling anymore of the scent.

Hinata walked toward the closet doors and slid them open. He began to rummage through the clothes and assortment of boxes.

Meanwhile, Kageyama walked around the bed that was placed in the middle of the room. He nearly slipped in a pile of vomit but quickly caught himself. He wanted to be disgusted but, at this point, he had seen stuff like this so many times that the only thing he could think was _Great, now my shoes are going to smell like vomit._

Kageyama did notice, though, that it hadn’t dried yet, meaning that it was thrown up not too long ago.

As Kageyama walked around the puddle and next to the bed his eyes widened and he felt the sudden urge to add his own mix to the pile.

It was a man, probably in his thirties, lying dead on the floor. There were giant chunks of his body ripped out, on his stomach and neck. His intestines leaked out of the cavity in his stomach and the body lied in a pool of blood.

Kageyama jerked back as he realized that he was standing in some of the blood. He looked back to make sure that Hinata hadn’t seen anything yet and resisted the urge to sigh in relief when the older teen was still searching through the boxes, lost in his own little world.

A horrifying thought suddenly struck Kageyama; This man had been bitten but hadn’t turned into an Other yet. Meaning that this attack had just taken place.

And the Others could still be here.

This realization caused the raven haired teen to shudder but he rationalized that if the infected were still on the premises they would have already attacked.

But now, as he looked down at the man soaking in his own blood and guts, Kageyama realized that there was an entirely new situation at hand.

He needed to dispose of the body.

Others could infect humans and turn them by biting them and releasing a venom into their skin. The venom takes a few minutes to work which means that in the time in between you could kill the infected before they could turn.

Well, _re-_ kill them.

The only way to kill an Other, though, was to stab or shoot them directly in their heart. They had the power to regenerate any lost skin and organs but could be stopped with a lethal wound to their hearts. If a human had been bitten directly in that organ, then they were immediately killed. Thankfully, Others were quite stupid and usually bit the humans in their most important organs rendering them unable to turn.

Kageyama raised up his knife and positioned it above the man’s heart but before he could deliver the blow he felt an unshakable sense of guilt.

There was something that felt so wrong about stabbing another human being. With a gun you could kill them from a distance and aren’t forced to watch their reactions up close.

But with a knife you had to come face to face with your victim and literally feel their blood escape onto your hands. Using a knife almost made a kill feel personal.

And, sure, this man was already gone, but Kageyama couldn’t help feeling bad about having to stab him. He probably had a steady job and some family, maybe even a romantic partner. He had goals and dreams that he wanted to accomplish and definitely hadn’t planned on dying so young.

Then, Kageyama realized that he hadn’t caused this man’s death, those creatures had. And soon, this man would turn into one of _them_. His family was probably dead and he wouldn’t care about his aspirations anymore. The only thing that he would care about from this point on would be sinking his teeth into another innocent human being and taking their life just as he had his taken away.

_Yes,_ the teenager thinks as he buries the knife into this man’s chest. _I’ve done this before and I will do it again._

After that, the room is all too quiet. Kageyama looks back and notices that Hinata has stopped rummaging and instead is sitting stiff, his hands stilled before him. Then he’s back to searching, albeit quieter than before. The same guilt finds its way into Kageyamas stomach before he can help it.

He stands up from his kneeling position and walks toward the bedside table. He opens up the top drawer and looks around. There’s nothing but a few pencils and paper.

He moves onto the second one and has a bit more luck; there’s a package of band aids and a tube of disinfectant cream. He shoves them into this jacket pocket and continues searching.

He opens the last drawer and is a bit surprised by what he sees. It’s a metal flask, shiny and new. Kageyama picks it, shakes it, and then raises a slight eyebrow when there appears to be some liquid in it. He twists the cap and smells the contents. It’s straight whiskey.

Alcohol has been a hard thing for the group to find so far. Most people just finished off their booze in a toast to the end of the world. So finding some whiskey was like a goldmine for Kageyama. He could probably bargain some off to the people in camp that were really desperate for some (This usually just meant the second years. Tanaka and Noya because they were stupid and daring enough to get wasted and Ennoshita because all he ever seemed to be was depressed and he was probably aching to drink his problems away.)

Or Kageyama could just save this for himself. He was underage but since the world was in chaos there weren’t really any laws left. And Kageyama was having the most difficult time here, what with his mood swings and anger. He deserved a break.

They all did, though.

Before Hinata could see he quickly shoved the flask into his back pocket. He can decide what to do with it later.

“Kageyama,” Hinata spoke up for the first time since they had entered the house. They had both gotten used to the scent by now and were able to breath. “Come check this out.”

Kageyama stepped around the body and walked over to the shorter boy who was still crouched down in the closet.

Hinata carefully got up and moved a box out into the room. Kageyama glanced at it and then gasped as he noticed the contents.

Inside there were a few packages of granola bars and water bottles. Next to that were rolls of gauze stuffed to the bottom and weighing them down were two wind up flashlights.

Kageyama looked at Hinata with wide eyes and the other boy just smiled in return. “Looks like this guy was really prepared for an emergency.”

Kageyama nodded slowly and lifted the box so he could carry it in his arms. Hinata, who was still grinning from his find, looked at Kageyama questioningly. “Did you find anything?”

He thought about the flask in his back pocket.

“Just some band aids and disinfectant.” He shrugged nonchalantly. Hinata raised an eyebrow and looked like he would call Kageyama out on his lie when they heard noises coming from the kitchen that made their breaths catch in their throat.

A loud scream followed by a gunshot.

The first years shot each other terrified glances before they switched into attack mode.

While Hinata rushed into the next room, Kageyama dropped the box on the floor, spilling its contents. He grabbed his knife and ran out.

Before they could go into the kitchen, Noya came stumbling out, supporting Tanaka on his arm.

 “We need to go, now!” Noya yelled as Tanaka bit his lip, fighting the urge to groan in pain. No one questioned him as they ran out of the house. Hinata first, to get the car started. Kageyama supported Tanakas other side as they got out of building.

They set Tanaka down on the backseat so that his head was rested on Noyas lap. Kageyama sat in the passenger seat, warily looking at a frantic Hinata who was pressing every button he possibly could.

“Do you even know how to- “

“DRIVE.”

Noya commanded from the backseat. Kageyama wasn’t sure why the second year was so anxious at first but understood as he looked back at the house.

A horde of Others was making their way out, their various popped warts with oozing puss and peeling skin making Kageyama gag. But these Others were different.

Two of them held knifes which they slashed the air in front of them with. It was clear that they didn’t know what they were attacking they just wanted to attack something.

Three Others held guns which they were rapidly shooting. They had terrible aim and repeatedly missed the car but a few bullets managed to shatter the glass, causing Hinata to yelp in surprise.

“Drive, damn it!” Noya yelled, kicking the back of his younger classmen’s seat. Hinata backed out of the driveway so fast and sloppily that the tires screeched. Then he drove down the main road, half of the time on the sidewalk. The Others tried to chase after them, but they couldn’t catch up.

“What the hell was that?” Kageyama screamed, turning backward to look at his seniors. _Please, please, don’t lose your cool now._ He brain begged his body as his purple veins pulsed from stress.

Noya set a firm glare on Kageyama that made him shut up immediately. He had never seen his usually lax, lighthearted upperclassmen act so harsh.

“We were looking around,” He explained, still glaring. “I turned my back and suddenly Ryuu cried out. I turned around and saw an Other right behind him.”

Hinatas breath hitched and Tanaka grit his teeth to prevent from crying out.

“I shot the stupid thing and then I noticed that Ryuu wasn’t bitten, he was stabbed. Before I could even ask if he was okay, a whole shit load of them busted in through the back, all of ‘em with weapons.”

Noya finished, not frowning any more but his mouth was set in a firm line. His eyes widened as Tanaka groaned a bit. Noya looked down at his best friend and smiled softly. “Don’t worry, Ryuu.” He spoke gently, patting Tanakas bald head. “We’ll be back to Karasuno soon. And then Kiyoko will get to take care of your wounds.”

Noya shook his head fondly. “You’re the one who got stabbed yet you still end up the winner in this situation.” Tanaka couldn’t speak yet from the pain, but he still managed to smile.

Meanwhile, Kageyama had a confused grimace on his face. “But wait, Nishinoya-senpai.” The boy in question looked up.

“The Others are too stupid to understand weapons. Even if they managed to get their hands on some, there’s no way they’d be smart enough to hit Tanaka in such a vital area.”

This caused Noya to frown once again. He shrugged his shoulders and replied, “That’s what I was thinking too. Maybe it’s impossible but I feel like they’re managing to get smarter.”

Kageyama cocked his head in confusion. “But how would they- “

Tanaka groaned and sat up so that he was hunched over. Nishinoya called out his name in concern but was ignored.

Tanaka met Kageyamas eyes and grunted.

“They’re evolving.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late chapter I've been having a bit of writers block so it was kind of difficult to get this chapter out. I'm still not completely satisfied with it but I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> Also, I've been reading all of your comments and I really appreciate the feedback. I haven't been able to respond because I'm still trying to get used to AO3 but please know that I do read them.
> 
> Again, if you want to see more of a certain character I'll definitely add them in. I know that it's only been Kags and Hinata these past chapters but next chap I'll be officially introducing the rest of Karasuno. All of your crow faves will get a line next chapter, I promise.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Daichi looked down at his friends with an expression of control and calmness but on the inside he was full of anxiety. He ran a hand through his hair and stifled a sigh, opting to bite his lip instead.

His friends looked at him with varying degrees of worry (except Tsukishima, who merely seemed bored.) He needed to start the meeting, but what was he even supposed to say? Honestly, he ran out of encouraging words a long time ago. By now he sort of just bullshitted everything that came out of his mouth.

He shouldn’t be the leader. It was too much pressure to have to worry about all of these people. If they were fed, healthy, _alive_ even. What used to be his friends now seemed like his damn children.

What made him so fit to be the leader anyways? Because he was the captain of their old volleyball team? That was so long ago. And just because he could lead his team and offer hyped up words of support _for a high school sports game,_ didn’t mean he could keep all of his teammates safe.

Maybe they only put him here because none of them wanted to be stuck in this position. _“Push the leader title on to Daichi and make the excuse that he was already the old captain,”_ Is probably what they all thought. None of them wanted to be stuck in charge so they made Daichi do it as a way out.

But all he’s doing is leading them down the shitter. In fact, he should just leave. One night just take as many supplies as he could carry and walk out. Never see Karasuno again, never see his friends again.

A gentle hand on his arm made Daichi jump. He turned toward Sugawara, who had a gentle smile on his face.

Suga lifted his hand up to his friends face and pried Daichis bottom lip out of his teeth with his thumb. Daichi shivered at the act and at the close proximity.

“Stop worrying.” Was all Suga commanded, before walking away and sitting next to Kageyama. Daichi tried to wipe the blush off of his face as quickly as possible.

He turned around, trying to address no one and everyone at the same time. He met Sugas gentle eyes and and saw his barely there nod.

“I know our monthly meetings are usually held a bit later,” Daichi started. Or were they? The captain couldn’t tell anymore. It felt like years since this ordeal had even started when, in reality, it was only a few months.

“But due to some serious issues that must be discussed, we will have to have it now.” He spoke with his hands firmly at his sides and his back stiff. Most of his friends sat exactly like his was standing, always on high alert and never trusting anyone.

“Nishinoya,” The boy in question was looking at the floor but his head quickly shot up when his name was called.

Noya definitely looked worse for wear. He had dark bags underneath his eyes and his hair hung around his sunken face. (Although, the fact that his hair been able to stand up on its own since the apocalypse started is quite baffling since there was no hair gel aroud anymore. _Maybe it changes depending on his mood,_ Daichi mused.)

“I need you to tell us the story of your last outing, when Tanaka was attacked .” Daichi said and Noya nodded in response.

He recounted the entire story and by the end Yachi had begun to shake in fear. Suga leaned over and whispered something in her ear but she quickly shook her head in return. Then the small girl began to fiddle with her thumbs, a habit the entire team had picked on. It meant that she was nervous.

When Noya was finished, Daichi nodded slowly. “What’s happening with Ryuu?” Noya asked with a frown on his face. “You told me that I’m not allowed to see him.”

Daichi looked over to Suga in desperation. The gray haired teen was always better at handling emotions than Daichi.

“Tanakas in a lot of pain right now, Noya.” Suga explained, trying to meet his underclassmen’s eyes. Noya just scowled at the floor. “And we don’t have any painkillers. It’s best just to leave him alone and let Ennnoshita do what he does best by taking care of him.”

“He probably wants to see me.” Noya snapped, finally meeting Sugawaras gaze. The older boy flinched at the harsh tone which made Noyas eyes soften. But just as quickly, they hardened again.

“Forget it.” He shook his head, rolling his eyes back to look at the ceiling. “Just continue the meeting.”

Daichi looked at his best friend who just shrugged and smiled softly. The captain looked back toward the group.

“It’s clearly not safe out there right now, what with the ‘evolution’ of the Others or whatever this may be. However,” Daichi took in a deep breath and braced himself for the next thing he was about to say. “I believe that it would be best for the scavenging team to go out and look through some more buildings.”

He was met by a few gasps and immediately after with frowns. “After we almost died the last time?” Hinata exclaimed, but not in a rude way. The younger boy seemed to be scared more than anything.

Daichi resisted the urge to flinch at the first year’s tone and just nodded back. Before he could get a word in, Noya broke down.

“Hinatas right! Those _things_ nearly killed Ryuu, and now your expecting us to go back? Are you insane?” This time Daichi could feel himself physically jerk back. He couldn’t meet Noyas eyes.

“We’re down a member.” Kageyama pointed out looking directly at his captain. “Unless you’re expecting Tanaka to search in his condition?”

“Of course not!” Daichi spoke in an offended tone, almost outraged that Kageyama would even imply such a thing like that. Daichi wasn’t _that_ cold hearted.

Was he?

“Just settle down and hear me out.” He said which everyone knew was a code word for _shut up and let me talk._ No one spoke.

“I didn’t even have to count the stash to know that we’re running low.” Everyone’s eyes went wide in shock. “We need to get some more supplies before we run out entirely. Maybe this isn’t the best time to spring this on all of you but this is an urgent matter that I refuse to sugar coat. None of us are children anymore and we need to take issues like this seriously.”

The room was silent. Before he could stop himself, Daichi looked at Suga. His friend had a hurt expression on his face that seemed to say _why didn’t you tell me?_

Sugawara was Daichis right hand man. He knew everything before the group did and acted as a second in command. Just like it used to be. So why didn’t Daichi tell him?

_I didn’t want you to worry any more than you already do._ He wanted to scream. But he had to hold back. He was supposed to be the cool, collected, level headed Daichi that the team counted on to make decisions and always knew what to do. And even though he didn't feel like he deserved that title anymore, he needed to act like their captain, now more than ever.

“Even still, we’re missing a man.” Kageyama spoke up again, his blue eyes bore holes into Daichi. Suga began to open his mouth but Daichi quickly intervened.

“Sugawara and I have to do a proper recounting of our entire stock tomorrow so we won't be able to help.” He still refused to look at the grey haired teenager. 

“Tsukishima.” He called to the man sitting in the back of the group. The blond boy raised his head up lazily and adjusted his frames.

“I need you to accompany the scavenge team tomorrow.” It wasn’t a question.

Tsukishima wrinkled his nose in distaste but there really was no use in arguing. Daichis rules were practically law now.

Yamaguchi noticed the way his best friend looked at their leader in disgust and he felt a pang of guilt. The freckled teen began to raise his hand.

“I could- “

“I’ll go.” Tsukishima quickly interrupted, acting as though he hadn’t heard his friend speak up at all. “We might find some equipment that these Neanderthals could break without my supervision.”

Daichi nodded gratefully and, after a few moments of silence, clapped his hands together. The loud noise echoed throughout the gymnasium. “I’ll get dinner ready and pass out rations soon. This meeting is adjourned.”

Everyone began to stand up from the floor and walk away. Daichi turned and ran his hands through his hair. He let out a tired sigh and turned around, expecting to see Suga there, waiting for him like always.

Except this time, his friend had already walked out the door, leaving Daichi completely alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super sorry for such a late and short update! Schools been preoccupying most of my time lately so I haven't been able to write much. This chapter was kind of rushed but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. 
> 
> Again, I've been reading everyones comments and I really appreciate all of the positive feed back! Please continue to support the story!
> 
> As requested by a few people, the next chapter is going to be a Tsukki-centered chap.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @ tsukkiyama: I'm sorry

Tsukishima opened the door to the tool shack as quietly as he could. He felt himself wince as the rusty hinge squeaked and then he slowly walked into the room.

What used to be Karasunos tool shack became the technical room, where Tsukishima and Yamaguchi spent hours trying to fix up broken equipment that had been found.

The two teenagers had more of an ‘organized chaos’ style going on. There were random batteries and wires strewn about and a variety of different screw drivers and other assorted tools. The shelves were adorned with a few of their different projects, such as radios and walkie-talkies.

Once, Sugawara had gone inside to help them with a project and his eyes had nearly bulged out of his head when he saw the mess. “How can you two even work in this awful room?” Is what he had asked.

Tsukishima liked the way their room was organized though. When he needed a specific part for the device he was fixing up he didn’t need to root through an endless amount of drawers to find it. He just had to look down and the piece would somehow be by his feet.

He knew how much Yamaguchi liked this room, too. His best friend once confided in him that it felt like a safe haven.

“When we’re in here, it feels like nothing can touch us.” He had admitted one day while working on a flashlight. “Kinda like all of the shit from outside has no way of reaching us.”

So when Yamaguchi had walked (it was more of a limp now) out of the meeting, his forehead sweaty and his hands shaking, Tsukishima knew that he would find his freckled friend here.

And he was right.

Said teen was currently bent over their main desk, his back turned toward the door. He muttered words that the blond boy couldn’t hear and his hands were clammy.

“You walked out so fast,” Tsukishima spoke, leaning against the doorframe. Yamaguchi jumped and turned to face him, but Tsukishima pretended to be too busy inspecting the dirt underneath his short finger nails. “Usually I’m the one doing that.”

The silent _are you okay_ hung in between them but remained unsaid. Usually, Yamaguchi understood these silent questions but today it seemed like he wasn’t willing to play along.

“Sorry Tsukki.” Is all that he said before he continued to turn around and work.

 _So, we’re doing this the hard way,_ Tsukishima thought. He sighed audibly and moved toward the table his friend was currently working on.

“Kind of sucks that they’re making me babysit tomorrow.” He tried his best to sound more annoyed than he was.

Yamaguchis hands stilled over the project (A radio, Tsukishima noticed) but he regained his composure fast.

“Sure does.” He mumbled. His hands moved- over wires and batteries, over anything to cling onto- but they didn’t seem to be doing anything other than providing a distraction.

Tsukishima pursed his lips in annoyance and fought the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping to accomplish by talking to Yamaguchi right now. The other boy clearly wanted to be left alone for whatever reason and was dead set on ignoring his friend. Why should Tsukishima waste his breath on something that didn’t matter?

The only problem was that he cared more about his childhood best friend than he would like to admit.

So he kept trying.

“How long have you been in here?” A nonchalant question, not seeming to care for an answer. A shrug in return. “Maybe you should sit down.” A hitch in his breath.

_Gotcha._

Tsukishima fought away a smirk as Yamaguchi slowly turned toward the chair on the other side of the room. Brown eyes met golden and suddenly the atmosphere was chilly.

“I’m fine.” The younger teen scowled, balling up his hands into fists.

“No please, I insist.”

“How many time do I have to say that I’m _fine.”_

 “Until I actually believe you.”

Yamaguchi threw his hands up and made a frustrated noise. Tsukishima raised an eyebrow in return and then motioned his head toward the chair. Yamaguchi sighed, realizing his defeat and took a step forward with his left leg-

And then limped with his right.

He continued that way- left, step, right, limp- until his was finally sitting down in the chair. His fingers wrapped around his right thigh as he grit his teeth in pain. “See, I’m fine.”

“Do I look like I was born yesterday, Yamaguchi?” Tsukishima asked, his dull eyes looking at the other boy who stared down at his shoes. “Just admit it.”

The brunette shrugged helplessly and refused to speak. He was panting, Tsukishima noticed, probably because the amount of pain and effort he put in from just walking.

The taller boy furrowed his brows and quickly walked over to the chair. He was through with playing games.

He harshly gripped the other boys shoulder, causing him to flinch, and leaned down. “Just me help you.” The way the blond boy spoke would make any believe that he was angry. Except for Yamaguchi.

Looking into his best friend’s eyes, Tadashi knew that all the boy was, was _tired._  

Yamaguchi looked down into his lap and rested his own hand over the one on his shoulder. He squeezed tightly, snapping Tsukishima out of his hazy trance. He backed away quickly, the usually cool boy now stumbling over his own feet.

He regained his collected attitude right away, pretending that the little slip up never happened. He pushed up his black frames and sighed in a way he hoped made him sound annoyed instead of desperate.

The two teens were in a silent standoff, neither one of them seeming to break any time soon. Just when Yamaguchi opened his mouth to tell the other first year that he could leave, Tsukishima jerked forward, placing both of his pale hands on the brace covering his thigh and knee.

The freckled boy protested loudly, doing all that he could to shake the hands off but it was all in vain. After much effort, the band finally came off.

To reveal what should have been tanned skin, free of blemishes except for the occasional splattering of brown freckles.

Instead, there were bright purple veins running across his knee and, above it, a long, bloody stab wound.

The wound had clearly been opened up recently, as it oozed thick, red liquid.

“Shit!” Kei yelled, backing up and running toward the desk. He groped around underneath and found a red tool box. He quickly opened it and pulled out a roll of gauze. (He had once snagged a roll or two from the Medical Ward for situations like this.)

Returning back to the chair, he unrolled the bandage and carefully wrapped it around the gash. He laid his hand over the cut and applied a gentle amount of pressure to stop the bleeding.

He looked up at the wounded boy from his kneeling position and felt his brows furrow when he noticed the large tears that were about to fall on him.

Yamaguchi gasped when he felt a hand placed on his face and a thumb brush away the wetness with a surprising amount of tenderness. He forced his eyes open and was met with the usually closed off golden eyes that now seemed to be leaking with compassion. Or maybe it was the tears clogging up Yamaguchis own vision that made everything seem like it was leaking.

“Tadashi,” The seriousness in his voice made Yamaguchis breath hitch in his throat. He could feel his friend’s exhales on his wet cheeks and suddenly it felt like he was sitting too close, _way too close._ The room seemed warmer than it really was and Tadashi felt the sudden urge to either pass out or vomit but the only thing he actually did was sob.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad?”

His voice was too sincere, too genuine. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Tsukki was supposed to be cold and distant. His face was either set in an irritated scowl or a superior smirk, not a worried frown with his eyebrows drawn together.

And Yamaguchi wasn’t supposed to have such a warm feeling in his stomach.

Suddenly, he shoved Tsukishima away from him as hard as he could. Which wasn’t very hard considering how weak he was, but still, Tsukishima was still surprised. Didn’t Yamaguchi _want_ his attention? Of course he did. So why was he acting like this?

“Because it’s not bad.” Yamaguchi yelled, pushing his hand down on the bandaged cut with more force than necessary, which in turn made him wince.

“Oh please,” Tsukishima scoffed, recovering from the harsh shove. His hand was gripping the desk so hard his knuckles turned white. “You look just as bad now as when I first saw you!”

Yamaguchis eyes widened in hurt and his big, brown eyes began to fill up with tears again. Tsukishima felt an arrow of guilt pierce his heart and for once in his life he found himself wanting to take back something he said.

No matter how true it was.

 

_He had found Yamaguchi before Sugawara had sent the text asking them to meet at Karasuno. In fact, one of his first initial reactions was to find his best friend before the Others did._

_He knew that Yamaguchi wouldn’t be able to survive on his own so he went to his house. He gasped at what he saw._

_The house, like the rest on the street, was in shambles. The door and windows were broken although there were no signs of the Others from the outside._

_He gripped his gun (The shotgun his father had hung up over their mantel years ago that somehow still worked) and slowly walked into the house._

_Three zombies were in the family room surrounding something and then Tsukishima could hear the screaming._

_The god awful, ear shattering screaming._

_He shot the three monsters down quickly, none of them having heard his entrance. When they went down, Tsukishima actually screamed at what he saw._

_Yamaguchis mother was lying dead on the floor, large portions of her body had been taken out. Her blood pooled around her and seeped onto her son’s legs._

_Her son, who was currently crying hysterically. He was hyperventilating and couldn’t seem to breathe. He grabbed onto his right leg tightly, clasped onto an object sticking out of it._

_Tsukishima followed the object and saw-_

_He stepped away and threw up._

_Yamaguchi had a knife stuck in his thigh, which had clearly been stabbed in the flesh multiple times and was now all connected. It was bleeding badly and the liquid mixed with his mothers, whose blood he was sitting on._

_The worst part had to have been the giant bite mark that the knife was sticking out of._

_Tsukishima ran into his bathroom and grabbed every medical item he could find. He ran back out to find Yamaguchi sitting in the exact same position, his hands still clenched onto the blade._

_Tsukishima carefully placed his hands on top of the other boys, trying not to startle him. Tadashi didn’t move, so he removed the knife from his leg. It had been stuck deep, though, which made Yamaguchi scream in pain._

_"Why, why, why." He felt himself mumbling under his breath, fumbling around with the bloody object._

_"It bit me," Yamaguchi sobbed, staring directly at his dead mother. "I needed to cut out the bite wound before I got infected like_ her."

_That logic almost made Tsukishima cry._

_As soon as he took the knife out blood started oozing out of the wound much faster than it had been before, which made Tsukishima panic. He needed to wrap it up to make it stop but first he had to deal with the bite._

_“Yamaguchi,” He thinks he had said. Honestly, at this point he was running on pure adrenaline and even now he can’t remember his exact words. “Did you feel the Others venom in your skin when it bit you.”_

_He shook his head quickly, fat tears still rolling down his face. “No. It was in the middle of biting me when you came. You killed them before it could do anything else.”_

_Tsukishima nearly sighed in relief. If none of the Others venom had made it into Yamaguchis blood stream, it meant that he couldn’t turn._

_But even if Yamaguchi hadn’t felt it, some of its poison might’ve gone into him. The cut also had the possibility of getting infected._

_Tsukishima grit his teeth and apologized quietly, before picking up the bottle of hydrogen peroxide._

_Yamaguchi whimpered, begged him not to stop. But he wasn’t listening._

_He poured half of the bottle onto his cut._

_As soon as the first drop hit his wound, Yamaguchi screamed bloody murder._

_Tsukishima barely reacted to the profanities being spewed from the boy’s mouth and didn’t flinch when Yamaguchi yelled something along the lines of, “That much peroxide is going to fuck up my leg forever, what the hell are you doing?”_

_He let Yamaguchi cry out as he wrapped up the wound in copious amounts of gauze and forcefully pressed his hand onto the cut to make it stop bleeding._

_All while kneeling in a (literal) pool of both of the Yamaguchis blood. Speaking of which._

_Tsukishima eyed the older woman and thought about how long they had until she turned. He had left his gun on the floor and he damn well knew he wouldn’t be able to fight an Other with his hands._

_“We have to go.” He commanded, standing up from the sticky ground. Yamaguchis eyes had slowly been closing for a while now and Tsukishima was worried that if he shut them now they would never open._

_“Come on, Tadashi.” He spoke softly, walking across the room and strapping the shotgun across his chest._

_He walked back over to his friend and carefully put his hands behind the other boy’s knees. As he lifted him up, Yamaguchi cried out again, but slowly began to get used to the pain._

_He wrapped both arms around the blond boy’s neck, his eyes shut tight._

_He carried him straight to Karasuno, because whatever was at that school sure as hell beat anything else right now._

 

“Yamaguchi I didn’t mean,” Tsukishima began to apologize, wiping his face with his hand. He knew how traumatizing the event was for Yamaguchi and neither of them were ready to talk about it yet.

But before he could speak, the others boys head shot up and there was a fiery look in his eyes.

“Look Tsukishima,” He spoke harshly, his teeth grinding together. “Stop treating me like I’m a damn child! I’m _fine.”_

“Just because you couldn’t save Akiteru doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me.”

Suddenly, both of their breaths hitched in sync. The room was so quiet and the atmosphere was too heavy. Then, Tsukishima snapped.

“You are _not_ allowed to talk about _him_ that way.” If looks could kill, Yamaguchi would surely be dead.

Tsukishima spun around and stomped towards the door, his head lowered and his fists clenched. He blinked heavily, willing the wetness to disappear. At least until he made it out of this damn shack. Then he could cry all he wanted like the pathetic brat he truly was.

“I’ll see Kiyoko about it tomorrow.”

He paused with his hand over the doorknob, but didn’t move his head.

No other words were exchanged between them. The silence was heavy.

For the past few weeks, Yamaguchi had refused to get any sort of medical treatment from Ennoshita and Kiyoko, simply because he was worried that they would tell Daichi and get him get kicked out.

“Sure, they accepted Kageyama.” He pointed out one night when his leg had been hurting particularly bad. “But I was actually _bitten._ They can’t trust me.”

The fact that Yamaguchi had had any encounters with the undead at all was their little secret. Even when he was in constant pain daily.

“I’m sure she won’t tell anyone if I ask her not to.” Tadashi spoke quietly, twiddling his thumbs in his lap. His eyes were tightly shut as he prepared for the rejection that was sure to come.

“Good.”

And that was all that was said.

No ‘sorry’s or arguments. That was how it worked between them. They rarely fought and when they actually did they skipped the apologetic part and went right back to being friends. 

“Now let me take a look at this piece of shit,” He spoke like nothing was wrong, even though a lot was. He stepped back up to the desk and picked up the radio. “All of your mindless tests on this thing probably broke it even more.”

“Sorry, Tsukki.”

Yamaguchi spoke with a fake smile plastered on his freckled face as he attempted to ignore not only the severe pain in his leg but the erratic beating of his heart.

When Tsukishima looked back at him with those narrowed golden eyes he pretended that the warmth in his cheeks was from the hot temperature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! I decided to post two chapters this week to make up for the lack of updates. This turned out to be a lot more yams than it was tsukki but I still hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> Phew, this chapter was a roller coaster! I went from wanting this to turn out light hearted and cute, to angsty and then intimate. I'm trying to add more romantic elements to the story so I hope that was able to shine through. 
> 
> After 10K words I think I finally have a general idea on how this fic is going to play out. I promise that it'll get more action-ey soon. Please continue to support the story so that I can (hopefully) get out updates quicker! If you have a specific character that you would like to see more of, please comment and I'll try to add them in.
> 
> Also, a bit of a disclaimer I guess. I did a little bit of research and thought I should probably let you guys know that you absolutely should NOT use hydrogen peroxide like Tsukishima used it. Hydrogen Peroxide is really only supposed to be used on small cuts not full blown stab wounds. Apparently this stuff can damage your cells? I'm not an expert on the science of it all but I do know that you should not be using this stuff like Tsukki did. If you accidentally cut yourself pretty badly the last thing you should be doing is pouring a shit ton of hydrogen peroxide on that. Just thought I should put that out there. 
> 
> Next chapter: We'll take a visit to the nurses office.


	6. Chapter 6

 Even though the power had gone out a long time ago and it was hardly sunny out, the white tiled ceiling shone so brightly in Tanakas eyes that he had to fight the urge to cover his face.

_Doctors’ offices are always bright, and they always smell like disinfectant spray too._  Tanaka thought solemnly as he squinted upwards. _Although, in this case its really more of a nurse’s office._

Tanaka absolutely hated being confined in the nurse’s office or, as he called it, the jail cell.

The room felt too small and empty, the bed he was lying on was about as comfortable as lying on the ground, and, for some reason, the air always smelt like alcohol and blood. Overall, the atmosphere gave him the creeps.

_Maybe if you weren’t being so reckless you wouldn’t be stuck here._ Tanakas brain attempted to scold him but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. Besides, it definitely wasn’t his own fault that he was here. He didn’t _ask_ to get stabbed.

The bandage wrapped around his torso somehow seemed to tighten.

As Tanaka sat up he attempted to stifle his groans. Even a task as simple as sitting up on his own was difficult now.

He pressed his hand to the gauze and pulled. Honestly, it didn’t have to be wrapped so tightly. Of course, he hadn’t mended his own wound so he didn’t have control over how painfully he was tended too.

Tanaka resisted the urge to scowl as he continued to pull at his wrap. That was another thing too; the person that they had assigned to take care of him-

“Tanaka, stop playing with your bandage you’ll mess it up.” The door to the office swung open and hit the wall with a bang. In stepped Ennoshita holding more layers of gauze.

Tanaka rolled his eyes but still dropped his hands. His eyes trailed Ennoshita ( _Nurse Chikara, he now referred to him as. Ennoshita grumbled when Tanaka called him that but he never told him to stop)_ who had walked over to the medicine cabinet and was putting the gauze away.

Then, he walked over to the bed and kneeled over Tanaka. His slim fingers slipped underneath the bandage before he yanked on it a bit to test how loose it was.

“Did I tie it too tightly the first time?” He mumbled under his breath. Seeing this as one of the only chances to initiate a conversation with the raven haired teen, Tanaka responded even though it was clear Ennoshita was talking to himself.

“A little bit but don’t worry, its fine now.” He spoke with a grin on his face as he looked directly into the other boy’s eyes.

Ennoshita removed his finger and Tanaka nearly pouted at the loss of contact. As he walked back to the cabinet, Tanaka heard him mutter, “I wasn’t worried.”

Then they both settled into a completely awkward silence. Ennoshita fumbled around in the medical supplies doing god knows what while Tanaka just sat and stared at the wall. No words or even friendly looks were exchanged.

At first, Tanaka thought that the whole ‘Ennoshita doesn’t talk anymore’ might’ve just been the other second year being afraid or even dramatic and that he would eventually just get over it.

But weeks passed and Ennoshita still wouldn’t engage in conversations and only ever spoke more than a few words when he communicated. He always seemed stiff and emotionless.

Tanaka still remembers what Sugawara had said to him when he had asked about Ennoshitas refusal to speak.

_“It’s an anxiety condition called selective mutism.” Sugawara explained._

_Tanaka tilted his neck in confusion. “I don’t understand.” He admitted, scratching his shaved head. “How can someone just choose not speak? Are they born that way or something?”_

_Sugawara smiled gently and looked at Tanaka with softened eyes. “Well,” He started carefully. “Some people_ are _born mute but that can happen for a variety of physical reasons. Selective mutism is a bit more psychological._

_Sometimes young children chose to be mute because they don’t feel relaxed in certain situations and their anxiety prevents them from speaking to others. In Ennoshita case though, it might be because he witnessed an event so traumatic that he just doesn’t feel comfortable with speaking anymore. I can’t really give you a reason, you’ll have to ask him yourself.”_

_Tanaka stared at Sugawara (or should he say Dr. Suga?) with wide eyes and his jaw hung open. Suga smiled and gently closed the other boys mouth._

_Chuckling, he added, “Of course, I’m not a doctor nor a therapist so don’t quote me on any of that.”_

 

The awkward tension in the room was so thick that it caused Tanaka to squirm on his cot. Even though Ennoshitas back was turned Tanaka knew that he was probably rolling his eyes as he sighed.

“Tanaka, please stop moving.” Ennoshita pleaded even though by the tone of his voice Tanaka could tell that it was more of a demand.

The request only made him wiggle more. “Just trying to get comfortable, Doctor Chikara.” At the mention of his first name, Ennoshita finally turned around, a bored look on his face.

“What do you want?” He asked, pulling up a chair and sitting next to the bed. Tanaka shrugged, fighting a smirk off of his face. “To talk?” He asked nonchalantly, staring at the ceiling.

Ennoshita frowned and his eyebrows furrowed, making Tanaka question whether or not he had crossed a line.

But the glare was gone as soon as it appeared as the raven hair boy responded, “What about?”

Tanakas eyes widened, shocked that the other teen complied so quickly. _Don’t screw this up Ryuu,_ he thought to himself. He couldn’t ask something personal or else the already closed off boy could get worse.

“I’m thinking about growing out my hair.” He started off, running a hand through the bit of black tresses he currently had. It wasn’t much but still longer than his hair had ever been all throughout high school.

Ennoshita stayed quiet so he took that as a sign to keep going. “It’s tedious to keep shaving it off all the time when we have more important things to do.” He continued. “I guess it just depends though.”

Thankfully, Ennoshita decided to humor him. Resting his elbow on the bed and his cheek in the palm of his hand, he lazily asked, “Depends on what?”

Tanaka couldn’t fight off the shit eating grin that was making its way onto his face so he tried to morph it into something more casual. “Whether or not _you_ like it.”

This caused the other boy to blush brightly which filled Tanakas stomach with warmth. _I’ve been wantig to use that line forever!_ He thought, smirking at his blushing friend.

Ennoshita leaned back in the chair, facing upwards, his hazel eyes closed. The room was silent before he finally exhaled loudly and said, “Let’s stop beating around the bush. You want to know what happened the afternoon Narita turned, don’t you?”

Tanakas breath hitched in his throat. Ennoshita hadn’t been willing to tell anybody what had happened to him and the two other second years and it took a lot of coaxing for him just to admit that they were dead.

“Of course not!” Tanaka lied, pushing himself up from the bed. “I would never- “

Suddenly, Ennoshitas head snapped forward as he looked at Ryuu with narrowed eyes. The stare was so intense, Tanaka had to fight the urge to turn away.

“I don’t like it when people lie to me, Tanaka.” Then, the fierceness of his gaze went away and was replaced with a look of sadness. “Narita lied to me and Kinoshita before he died. Told us that he hadn’t taken the serum when we confronted him about it.”

Ennoshita didn’t have enough energy to tell Tanaka to piss off when he reached out and intertwined their fingers. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you’re not ready.” Tanaka said, giving the other boys hand a gentle squeeze.

And for once, Ennoshita felt tired of running away from his problems and refusing to open up. He wasn’t the most ideal person, but somehow Chikara felt safe confiding in the other second year.

Which was insane because it was _Tanaka_ of all people and Chikara couldn’t even imagine telling any of this to Daichi or even _Suga._

But there was just something about the way the other boys comforting eyes stared at him, like a silent promise that everything was going to be okay that made him want to speak for the first time in months. He took in a long breath and began;

“A few weeks before the turning, I started to notice that Narita was starting to show all of the symptoms of the Serum. He was beginning to get incredibly good at volleyball but he was also getting sick all the time and had terrible mood swings.

After a week or so I think Kinoshita and I both caught onto the fact that Narita had definitely taken the Serum. We tried to question him about it but he deflected and usually snapped at us for even asking. The two of us decided that our little group would be better off if we dropped the subject all together.

But then Narita started to get a lot worse, what with the peeling skin and boils. We forced him to stay home but after a few days his mother contacted us, saying he wasn’t getting better at all.

Kinoshita and I decided one day that we should go over to try and help him or something. Not that either of us thought that he _could_ be helped. We just wanted to stop feeling guilty for not telling someone when we should have.

Narita had been throwing up in the restroom for quite a while when Kinoshita decided that he would go check up on him. After a few minutes I heard lots of crashing sounds and then Kinoshitas heart wrenching scream.

I didn’t know what happened and, honestly, I didn’t even care. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. The restroom was right next to the front door so I opened a window and jumped out.

Then I ran to Karasuno and never looked back.”

Ennoshita stared down at their interlocked hands, blinking away unshed tears. Tanaka felt something pull at his chest as he looked at his friend who was slowly falling apart.

“Saeko was killed too.” Tanaka finally confessed. Ennoshitas head whipped up in shock and his hand involuntarily tightened around the other boys.

“She hold told me that she got the serum injected way early on but convinced me not to do the same, even though I really wanted to.” Tanaka smiled sadly, reminiscing. “I got so mad at her after that. But the afternoon that she turned and I was forced to stab my own sister I regretted every fight we’d ever had.”

Tanaka was glad for the silence that followed afterwards. He didn’t want Ennoshita to apologize for the death of his sister and Tanaka figured that the other boy felt the same.

“You know what I don’t understand, though?” Tanaka asked, once the depressing atmosphere had more or less subsided. Ennoshita shook his head so Tanaka continued, “If Narita and Saeko, hell, everyone who took the serum, had had it injected on different days, sometimes months in between, why did they all Turn on the same day?”

He was too tired to start thinking analytically, so Ennoshita just shrugged and told the other boy not to worry about it. (Although it was an interesting question.)

Ennoshita released their hands, which made Tanaka frown at the loss of warmth, and stood up. He walked back over to the medicine cabinet and began to restock.

But before he started to move anything around, he smirked and said, “You should keep growing out your hair. You look better with it long.” Then started to mess with the different medicines and bandages, as if nothing had happened.

Tanaka fumbled and blushed deeply, then ran a hand on top of his head. _He_ was supposed to be the smooth talker, damn it!

However, as he saw Ennoshitas profile and noticed that the boy was smiling for what had to be the first time in months, Tanaka felt his embarrassment diminish.

He swore to keep that smile on his friends face, no matter what it took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have no excuses. I can't even blame the late update on school because I've been on summer break for three weeks already.
> 
> But I'm finally back at last with not one, but two heart breaking backstories! Damn, first Akiteru, now Saeko, I'm awful to the boys' siblings. (Makes you wonder where Natsu is hmmm...)
> 
> Even though I haven't been writing I did take this little hiatus to plan out how the story is going to go and I can safely say that I have some sort of ending planned (although it won't be coming anytime soon.) The next chapter or two are pretty much going to revolve around everyone elses backstories before they got to Karasuno. They'll basically just be filler chapters but I'll try to make them as interesting as I can.
> 
> As soon as I finish the fillers I'll jump right back into the action, so sorry if you're antsy for more zombie scenes (And more death.)
> 
> Anyways, I really hoped you enjoyed this EnnoTana chapter. I had a lot of different emotions writing this chap, mainly because it's my favorite rare pairing. 
> 
> I'm still trying to get the hang of writing romantic scenes but next chap is Daisuga centric so I should be able to get a lot of practice! Thanks for reading!
> 
> (Also happy birthday to Hinata, since I'll be uploading this on his birthday.)


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